Novena

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

The number 40 is a very familiar and significant number in the Bible. In the story of Noah and the flood, it rains 40 days and 40 nights (Gn 7:12) and a new creation begins. After the sealing of the covenant of Mt. Sinai, Moses is with God on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights (Ex 24:18) and the covenant is renewed. After the people of Israel wander in the desert for 40 years (Nm 13:25), they will enter into the Promised Land. Jesus is tempted in the desert for 40 days and nights and then begins his public ministry. Jesus’ ascension into heaven occurs 40 days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3), and then we enter the age of the Church.

The number 40 suggests a period of time with content: it is a time of need, of struggle, of testing. Forty also denotes a period of preparation for some special action of the Lord; it is a time of grace. This jubilee year, we celebrate our 40th anniversary as a year of evangelization, Alive in Christ.

I ask you to join me and pray this Novena, a beautiful devotion with reflections from St. Maximilian Kolbe, beginning May 2 and ending May 10, the Vigil of Pentecost. We pray this Novena with fervor to bring about within our own lives and the lives of those around us, the presence of God, so that we might grow in our personal, living relationship with Christ; lead as Church, our brothers and sisters to a new experience of holiness and abundant life in Christ; and to share God’s love for all people, giving selflessly in a spirit of love for the Lord.

Come pray with me!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Thomas G.Wenski
Bishop of Orlando